FireClan's Secrets
by Midnight-Armonia
Summary: Discontinued for now - I'm too busy with roleplays.
1. Chapter 1

Allegiances (Note: As of right now I only have FireClan.)

_**FireClan**_

_Leader: _Cloudedstar—long-furred grayish-white blue-eyed tom

_Deputy:_ Lilywind—gray tabby she-cat (apprentice, Darkpaw)

_Medicine Cat:_ Blackwing—black she-cat with dark blue eyes (apprentice, Rosepaw)

_Warriors: _

Goldenheart—large golden-brown tabby tom

Cinderstreak—dark gray slender she-cat with amber eyes (apprentice, Ashpaw)

Thornpelt—dark brown tabby tom

Eagleclaw—sturdy tom with a light gray pelt (apprentice, Spottedpaw)

Smokeswirl—gray-black green-eyed she-cat

Thistletail—thin tom with black fur (apprentice, Echopaw)

Hazelbrook—brown tabby-and-white patched she-cat

Blackstripe—dark tabby tom with yellow eyes

Mossfur—green-eyed she-cat with a dusky brown pelt

_Apprentices: _

Darkpaw—dark brown tabby tom

Echopaw—small white she-cat with pale blue eyes

Ashpaw—pale gray speckled tom

Spottedpaw—tortoiseshell green-eyed she-cat

Rosepaw—gingery-golden she-cat with hazel eyes

_Queens:_

Flowerheart—dappled tortoiseshell she-cat

Sandwing—pale ginger she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Thornpelt's kits

Elders:

Graywhisker—pale gray wiry tom

Chapter One

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Spottedpaw woke with a start. She sat up slowly and stretched, digging her claws into the floor of the apprentice den. Then she padded out.

Her mentor, Eagleclaw, was waiting just outside the den. "Come on," he meowed. "We're on dawn patrol."

Spottedpaw blinked, still half-asleep. "Okay, coming."

The other cats were waiting for them at the edge of camp—Cinderstreak and Blackstripe were also coming. The four of them set out into the thin, scrubby trees that made FireClan's territory.

They were going to head to the PineClan border. Lately, PineClan had been the Clan to cause them the most trouble, but in the last quarter-moon they had been very quiet. FireClan's leader—Cloudedstar—wanted them to check out the border and see if there was anything abnormal going on.

Spottedpaw suddenly heard a rustle in the bracken several fox-lengths away, next to the stream that made the border. Not wanting any other cat to know, she meowed to Eagleclaw, "I think I saw a mouse over there, and I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. Is it okay if I go get it and catch up with you guys further up on the border?"

Eagleclaw hesitated, then nodded. "Sure. See you up there, okay?"

Spottedpaw dipped her head and padded off.

She hadn't really seen a mouse, only a rustle in the bracken. But surely that was what it would be, and hunting patrols would be out later anyway. There was no harm in taking one piece of prey for herself, was there?

Spottedpaw began creeping through the undergrowth—then stopped dead. The creature that had rustled the bracken hadn't been a mouse.

It was a cat.

The dark brown tom had his back to Spottedpaw, running silently down the edge of the stream. Slipping into the open, Spottedpaw began to follow him.

"Who are you?" she called, realizing that it was a cat from PineClan. The tom whipped around, eyes wide, and then ran faster.

Frustration welled up inside Spottedpaw. "I just want to talk to you!" she yowled.

Finally, the tom turned. "My name is Talonpaw," he meowed, eyes cold. "I--"

"You were stealing prey, weren't you?"

Talonpaw bristled. "No! I would never steal prey, mouse-brain!"

Spottedpaw scraped her claws on the ground. "What were you doing on FireClan territory, then, if you weren't?"

A guarded look came over the dark tom, and he meowed, "That's none of your--"

He yelped as, suddenly, the ground began to crumble beneath him. Spottedpaw lunged forward, but she was too late.

Talonpaw tumbled into the churning stream.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Spottedpaw stared as Talonpaw fell into the stream. She knew that it was the deepest, most dangerous one in the forest. Racing along the side, she meowed, "Can you swim well?"

Talonpaw was fighting to keep on the surface. "No," he spluttered—then he went back down again.

Spottedpaw tensed; she was a good swimmer. "I'm coming in," she meowed determinedly. Then she jumped.

Landing hard in the freezing water, Spottedpaw could just make out Talonpaw's shape just below the surface. Taking a deep breath, Spottedpaw dove underwater and pulled Talonpaw out.

Gasping and soaking wet, she dragged his unmoving form to the PineClan side of the border. He shuddered and began to take ragged breaths. "Thanks," he croaked.

Spottedpaw flicked her ears dismissively. "No problem," she meowed. "I would help any cat in need, Talonpaw. Now...you'd better get back to your Clan."

As the brown tom was nodding, a shout came from behind them, fierce and worried. "Spottedpaw, what the...what are you doing over there? Who's he?"

Spottedpaw leaned over to Talonpaw. "Let me do all the talking; this is my mentor," she whispered. To Eagleclaw she called, "I was tracking the mouse I scented when I saw Talonpaw fall in the stream over here. I jumped in and pulled him out."

Eagleclaw's eyes flashed. "Well, now we're going to have to take you back to camp. It's leaf-bare, and you're soaked! Come on—there's a tree you can cross over."

Spottedpaw dipped her head and hissed quietly over her shoulder, "Talonpaw, get back to your own Clan. Now." The brown tom began to scramble back through his territory.

Spottedpaw began walking across the tree-bridge carefully, claws digging into the wet wood. Finally, with a sigh of relief, she jumped down lightly on her side of the stream.

The dawn patrol took her back to camp. She hadn't realized she was shivering.

When they arrived back in the camp, all the cats were up. "Straight to the medicine cat den," Eagleclaw meowed stiffly—he was obviously not happy that she had been in enemy territory, even if she had good reason. "No matter what."

Still dripping, Spottedpaw obeyed with relief. "Of course."

She had always loved the medicine cat den; the herbs intrigued her and the thought of being the closest cat to DriftClan (_Note: in my story, DriftClan is StarClan_) was inspiring. She secretly wished she could be a medicine cat apprentice; however, Rosepaw already was.

Blackwing, the medicine cat, looked startled when she saw Spottedpaw. "Oh, my...what have you done?"

Spottedpaw let out a _mrrrow _of laughter. "Well...I kind of jumped into a stream."

Blackwing rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm not even going to ask. Come and sit down..."

Spottedpaw ended up being kept in the medicine cat den for a good part of the day. Blackwing seemed to be worried that she might get sick, and Spottedpaw didn't mind because it meant she got to stay in the medicine cat den—her favorite place in camp.

Only then did it occur to her that she still didn't know what Talonpaw had been doing in FireClan's territory.

*******

Spottedpaw woke later as dusk was settling on the Clan. With a yawn, she stretched slowly. She stopped dead when she heard two cats arguing just outside camp, and scented PineClan.

"Does it matter who?" one voice asked. "I mean, this is just a show of...authority or something, right?"

A deeper, growling voice answered. "They don't even know we're out here, mouse-brain! But, no, you're right. It doesn't matter who we get."

The other cat paused, then meowed, "I'll finish it tonight."

"Good."

Spottedpaw, eyes wide, slunk back to the medicine cat den.

*******

That night, when Spottedpaw went to bed, she began dreaming almost instantly. She was in a dark forest, where the shadows of trees dappled the mossy ground with moonlight. Starry-furred cats weaved through the forest, and Spottedpaw followed them, whispering, "Who are you?" She realized with a gasp that they must be DriftClan.

The cats gathered around a dark and very still pool in the middle of the dark forest. Then they seemed to realize she was there, and all but one cat--a silvery she-cat--faded into the trees.

The she-cat padded up to Spottedpaw, her intense gaze serious. "Greetings, Spottedpaw," she meowed. "My name is Featherbreeze. I have two things to tell you." The starry-furred she-cat looked at the pool behind them and trailed her tail-tip in it. "One...tomorrow night after the Gathering, tell your mentor - or whoever you need to tell - that you're going to do a little hunting. Stay behind at the Gathering. Just trust me."

Spottedpaw listened with wide eyes. Lie? To her Clan? Well, if a DriftClan cat was telling her to...

"Also," Featherbreeze continued, "you're a warrior apprentice, right?"

Spottedpaw nodded. "Yes...yes, I am."

"You need to become a medicine cat," Featherbreeze meowed gently. "It is your destiny to heal, Spottedpaw."

Spottedpaw swallowed hard. "But...my Clan already has a medicine cat apprentice! Rosepaw! I mean, I've always wanted to become a medicine cat, but...I can't..."

Featherbreeze's eyes darkened. "We'll see," she meowed ominously, a touch of fear in her voice. "But...just trust me on this, too. It's your destiny," the silvery she-cat repeated. Then she dipped her head to Spottedpaw and backed away. "Your path through the forest of fate is twisted, young Spottedpaw, but I will be with you every step of the way," she whispered as she, like the other DriftClan cats had, faded into the darkness.

*******

Spottedpaw woke the next morning to yowls of terror. Fur standing up on end, she pelted out of the medicine cat den. "What happened? What's wrong?"

The deputy, Lilywind, looked up from where she was bent over cat's mangled body. "Rosepaw," the gray deputy whispered, her voice tainted with horror. "She's been killed."


End file.
